Communication Method, Communication Apparatus, and Communication Device

ABSTRACT

A communication method includes: generating an extremely high-throughput physical layer protocol data unit (EHT PPDU) that comprises a legacy physical layer preamble and a new physical layer preamble, wherein the legacy physical layer preamble comprises a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), and a legacy signal (L-SIG) field in turn, and wherein a first field of the new physical layer preamble is a repeat of a field in the legacy physical layer preamble and is modulated by binary phase shift keying, BPSK; and sending the PPDU.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/156,797filed on Jan. 19, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/141,676 filed on Jan. 5, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No.11,575,482, which is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/CN2019/094779 filed on Jul. 5, 2019, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201810739872.8 filed on Jul. 6, 2018. Allof the aforementioned patent applications are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of communication technologies, andin particular, to a communication method, a communication apparatus, anda communication device.

BACKGROUND

The 802.11 series standards are defined by the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and widely used for wireless localarea networks (WLANs). Mainstream standards in the 802.11 seriesstandards include 802.11a, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and the like.

A next-generation 802.11 standard also supports working spectra, such asfrequency bands of 2.4 gigahertz (GHz), 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, of the802.11ax standard, in consideration of backward compatibility. Channeldivision is performed based on the free 6-GHz frequency band that isopen recently, and a bandwidth that can be supported may exceed amaximum bandwidth of 160 megahertz (MHz) supported in the 5-GHzfrequency band, for example, 240 MHz, 320 MHz, or 400 MHz. In additionto supporting an ultra-high bandwidth, the next-generation 802.11standard can also support a combination of a plurality of frequencybands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) and more spatial streams, for example,increasing a quantity of spatial streams to 16, to increase a peakthroughput.

In addition, in consideration of compatibility with a conventional WI-FIdevice in the next-generation 802.11 standard, a frame structure of aphysical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) usually starts with a legacyphysical layer preamble, and a new physical layer preamble immediatelyfollows the legacy physical layer preamble. The new physical layerpreamble may include a new function indication for implementing thenext-generation 802.11 standard, for example, a bandwidth indicationabout an ultra-high bandwidth. A new physical layer preamble in eachgeneration of the 802.11 standards, other than the 802.11a standard,carries information such that a receive end can determine, based on thenew physical layer preamble, whether a frame structure of a receivedPPDU is a frame structure of a PPDU that is generated based on thecorresponding generation of the standards. This is referred to asauto-detection. The auto-detection includes the following two meanings.In one aspect, the receive end correctly determines, as a PPDU that isgenerated based on a current-generation standard, a received PPDU thatis generated based on the current-generation standard, but does notdetermine the received PPDU as a PPDU that is generated based on anon-current-generation standard. In the other aspect, the receive enddoes not determine, as a PPDU that is generated based on thecurrent-generation standard, a received PPDU that is generated based onthe non-current-generation standard. For example, if an 802.11n receiveend receives an 802.11n PPDU, the 802.11n receive end correctlydetermines the received PPDU as an 802.11n PPDU, and if the receive endreceives an 802.11a PPDU, the receive end does not determine thereceived PPDU as an 802.11n PPDU.

Therefore, an auto-detection problem still exists in a design of aphysical layer preamble of a PPDU of the next-generation 802.11standard.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of this application provide a communication method, acommunication apparatus, and a communication device, to resolve acurrent-technology problem of auto-detection that still exists in adesign of a physical layer preamble of a PPDU of a next-generation802.11 standard.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication method. The method includes generating a PPDU includinga preamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble, the new physical layer preambleincludes a repeated field, and the repeated field is a field that has apreset out-of-order relationship with a preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble in frequency domain, and sending the PPDU.

In the foregoing solution, the preset out-of-order relationship existsbetween the repeated field and the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble, and information for automatically detecting that thePPDU is a next-generation PPDU is carried in the PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, a first frequency-domain processingprocess of generating an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing(OFDM) symbol of the preset field of the legacy physical layer preambleincludes interleaving processing, and a second frequency-domainprocessing process of generating an OFDM symbol of the repeated fielddoes not include interleaving processing.

In the foregoing solution, the first frequency-domain processing processof generating the OFDM symbol of the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble includes interleaving processing, and the secondfrequency-domain processing process of generating the OFDM symbol of therepeated field does not include interleaving processing such that thepreset out-of-order relationship exists between the repeated field andthe preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble.

In a possible implementation design, the first frequency-domainprocessing process does not include scrambling processing, and thesecond frequency-domain processing process includes scramblingprocessing.

In the foregoing solution, the first frequency-domain processing processof generating the OFDM symbol of the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble does not include scrambling processing, and the secondfrequency-domain processing process of generating the OFDM symbol of therepeated field includes scrambling processing such that the presetout-of-order relationship exists between the repeated field and thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble.

In a possible implementation design, the first frequency-domainprocessing process does not include out-of-order processing for a datasymbol, and the second frequency-domain processing process includesout-of-order processing for a data symbol.

In the foregoing solution, the first frequency-domain processing processof generating the OFDM symbol of the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble does not include out-of-order processing, and the secondfrequency-domain processing process of generating the OFDM symbol of therepeated field includes out-of-order processing such that the presetout-of-order relationship exists between the repeated field and thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble.

In a possible implementation design, out-of-order processing includesany one of performing cyclic shift on data symbols carried on datasubcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried on odd-numbered andeven-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging data symbols carriedin high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarrier subsets.

In a possible implementation design, a binary phase-shift keying (BPSK)mode is used for constellation point mapping in the secondfrequency-domain processing process.

In the foregoing solution, the BPSK mode is used for constellation pointmapping in the second frequency-domain processing process. This canavoid the following case. An 802.11n receive end determines, on thebasis that a 1^(st) OFDM field following a legacy signal (L-SIG) fielduses the QBPSK mode for constellation point mapping, that anext-generation PPDU is a high-throughput (HT) PPDU, and consequentlythe 802.11n receive end incorrectly decodes a 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble, for example, the 802.11n receive end fails toperform a cyclic redundancy check, and further the 802.11n receive enddoes not comply with a length field of the L-SIG to enter a silent timeperiod. As a result, this behavior may interfere with the PPDU that isbeing transmitted.

In a possible implementation design, the legacy physical layer preamblecan be decoded by a plurality of receive ends, and the new physicallayer preamble can be decoded by a portion of the plurality of receiveends.

In a possible implementation design, a bit input to a channel encoderfor the repeated field is the same as a bit input to the channel encoderfor the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble in afrequency-domain processing process.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble is an L-SIG field.

In a possible implementation design, the repeated field is a 1^(st)field or a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

In a possible implementation design, the repeated field is a 1^(st)field of the new physical layer preamble, and any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSKmode for constellation point mapping.

In the foregoing solution, the repeated field is the 1^(st) field of thenew physical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping. In this way, based on that the repeatedfield carries auto-detection information, the auto-detection informationis further carried using the rotated BPSK mode. This improves accuracyof determining a PPDU by the receive end.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication method. The method includes receiving a PPDU including apreamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble, determining whether the new physicallayer preamble includes a repeated field, where the repeated field is afield that has a preset out-of-order relationship with a preset field ofthe legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain, and if the newphysical layer preamble includes the repeated field, determining thatthe PPDU is a target PPDU.

In the foregoing solution, it is determined whether the new physicallayer preamble includes the repeated field, where the repeated field isthe field that has the preset out-of-order relationship with the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain. If thenew physical layer preamble includes the repeated field, it isdetermined that the PPDU is the target PPDU, that is, a next-generationPPDU. In this way, a receive end determines, based on the presetout-of-order relationship between the repeated field and the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble, that the PPDU is thenext-generation PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, determining whether the newphysical layer preamble includes a repeated field includes determining asimilarity between first information and second information, where thefirst information is obtained by performing a first decoding processingprocess on the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, andthe second information is obtained by performing a second decodingprocessing process on the repeated field, and if the similarity isgreater than or equal to a preset threshold, determining that the newphysical layer preamble includes the repeated field, or if thesimilarity is less than a preset threshold, determining that the newphysical layer preamble does not include the repeated field.

In a possible implementation design, the first decoding processingprocess includes de-interleaving processing, and the second decodingprocessing process does not include de-interleaving processing, or thefirst decoding processing process does not include de-scramblingprocessing, and the second decoding processing process includesde-scrambling processing, or the first decoding processing process doesnot include de-out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and the seconddecoding processing process includes de-out-of-order processing for adata symbol.

In a possible implementation design, de-out-of-order processing for adata symbol includes any one of performing cyclic shift on data symbolscarried on data subcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried onodd-numbered and even-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging datasymbols carried in high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarriersubsets.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication method. The method includes generating a PPDU includinga preamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble, a 1^(st) field of the new physicallayer preamble is the same as a preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble, and any field of the new physical layer preamble otherthan the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping, and sending the PPDU.

In the foregoing solution, the 1^(st) field of the new physical layerpreamble is the same as the preset field of the legacy physical layerpreamble, and any field of the new physical layer preamble other thanthe 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping. In this way, a PPDU carries information for automaticallydetecting that the PPDU is a next-generation PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, a 2^(nd) field of the new physicallayer preamble uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping.

According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication method. The method includes receiving a PPDU including apreamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble, determining whether a 1^(st) field ofthe new physical layer preamble is the same as a preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble, and whether any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSKmode for constellation point mapping, and if the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble is the same as the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, determining that the PPDU is a target PPDU.

In the foregoing solution, it is determined whether the 1^(st) field ofthe new physical layer preamble is the same as the preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble, and whether any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotatedBPSK mode for constellation point mapping. If the 1^(st) field of thenew physical layer preamble is the same as the preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, it is determined that the PPDU is thetarget PPDU, that is, a next-generation PPDU. In this way, a receive enddetermines, based on the preset out-of-order relationship between arepeated field and the preset field of the legacy physical layerpreamble, that the PPDU is the next-generation PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, determining whether any field ofthe new physical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses arotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping includes determiningwhether a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble uses therotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication method. The method includes generating a PPDU includinga new physical layer preamble, where the new physical layer preambleincludes a preset field, a check bit of the preset field is located at apreset location of a data subcarrier, and the preset location is used toindicate a frame structure of the PPDU, and sending the PPDU.

In the foregoing solution, the new physical layer preamble includes thepreset field, the check bit of the preset field is located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier, and the preset location is used toindicate the frame structure of the PPDU. In this way, the PPDU carriesinformation for automatically detecting that the PPDU is anext-generation PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field is a 1^(st) fieldor a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication method. The method includes receiving a PPDU including apreamble, where the preamble includes a new physical layer preamble,determining whether a check bit of a preset field of the new physicallayer preamble is located at a preset location of a data subcarrier,where the preset location is used to indicate that the PPDU is a targetPPDU, and if the check bit of the preset field of the new physical layerpreamble is located at the preset location of the data subcarrier,determining that the PPDU is the target PPDU.

In the foregoing solution, it is determined whether the check bit of thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble is located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier, where the preset location is used toindicate that the PPDU is the target PPDU. If the check bit of thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble is located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier, it is determined that the PPDU is thetarget PPDU, that is, a next-generation PPDU. In this way, a receive enddetermines, based on a preset out-of-order relationship between arepeated field and a preset field of a legacy physical layer preamble,that the PPDU is the next-generation PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field is a 1^(st) fieldor a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a communication apparatus, used for a transmit end. Thecommunication apparatus includes a generation unit configured togenerate a PPDU including a preamble, where the preamble includes alegacy physical layer preamble and a new physical layer preamble, thenew physical layer preamble includes a repeated field, and the repeatedfield is a field that has a preset out-of-order relationship with apreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain,and a sending unit configured to send the PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, a first frequency-domain processingprocess of generating an OFDM symbol of the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble includes interleaving processing, and a secondfrequency-domain processing process of generating an OFDM symbol of therepeated field does not include interleaving processing, or the firstfrequency-domain processing process does not include scramblingprocessing, and the second frequency-domain processing process includesscrambling processing, or the first frequency-domain processing processdoes not include out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and thesecond frequency-domain processing process includes out-of-orderprocessing for a data symbol.

In a possible implementation design, out-of-order processing includesany one of performing cyclic shift on data symbols carried on datasubcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried on odd-numbered andeven-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging data symbols carriedin high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarrier subsets.

In a possible implementation design, a BPSK mode is used forconstellation point mapping in the second frequency-domain processingprocess.

In a possible implementation design, the legacy physical layer preamblecan be decoded by a plurality of receive ends, and the new physicallayer preamble can be decoded by a portion of the plurality of receiveends.

In a possible implementation design, a bit input to a channel encoderfor the repeated field is the same as a bit input to the channel encoderfor the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble in afrequency-domain processing process.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble is an L-SIG field.

In a possible implementation design, the repeated field is a 1^(st)field or a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

In a possible implementation design, the repeated field is a 1^(st)field of the new physical layer preamble, and any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSKmode for constellation point mapping.

For beneficial effects of the communication apparatus provided in theseventh aspect and the possible implementations of the seventh aspect,refer to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and the possibleimplementations of the first aspect. Details are not described hereinagain.

According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a communication apparatus, used for a receive end. Thecommunication apparatus includes a receiving unit configured to receivea PPDU including a preamble, where the preamble includes a legacyphysical layer preamble and a new physical layer preamble, and adetermining unit configured to determine whether the new physical layerpreamble includes a repeated field, where the repeated field is a fieldthat has a preset out-of-order relationship with a preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain, and if the newphysical layer preamble includes the repeated field, determine that thePPDU is a target PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, that the determining unit isconfigured to determine a similarity between first information andsecond information, where the first information is obtained byperforming a first decoding processing process on the preset field ofthe legacy physical layer preamble, and the second information isobtained by performing a second decoding processing process on therepeated field, and if the similarity is greater than or equal to apreset threshold, determine that the new physical layer preambleincludes the repeated field, or if the similarity is less than a presetthreshold, determine that the new physical layer preamble does notinclude the repeated field.

In a possible implementation design, the first decoding processingprocess includes de-interleaving processing, and the second decodingprocessing process does not include de-interleaving processing, or thefirst decoding processing process does not include de-scramblingprocessing, and the second decoding processing process includesde-scrambling processing, or the first decoding processing process doesnot include de-out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and the seconddecoding processing process includes de-out-of-order processing for adata symbol.

In a possible implementation design, de-out-of-order processing for adata symbol includes any one of performing cyclic shift on data symbolscarried on data subcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried onodd-numbered and even-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging datasymbols carried in high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarriersubsets.

For beneficial effects of the communication apparatus provided in theeighth aspect and the possible implementations of the eighth aspect,refer to the beneficial effects of the second aspect and the possibleimplementations of the second aspect. Details are not described hereinagain.

According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication apparatus, used for a transmit end. The communicationapparatus includes a generation unit configured to generate a PPDUincluding a preamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physicallayer preamble and a new physical layer preamble, a 1^(st) field of thenew physical layer preamble is the same as a preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, and a sending unit configured to send thePPDU.

In a possible implementation design, a 2^(nd) field of the new physicallayer preamble uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping.

For beneficial effects of the communication apparatus provided in theninth aspect and the possible implementations of the ninth aspect, referto the beneficial effects of the third aspect and the possibleimplementations of the third aspect. Details are not described hereinagain.

According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa communication apparatus, used for a receive end. The communicationapparatus includes a receiving unit configured to receive a PPDUincluding a preamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physicallayer preamble and a new physical layer preamble, and a determining unitconfigured to determine whether a 1^(st) field of the new physical layerpreamble is the same as a preset field of the legacy physical layerpreamble, and whether any field of the new physical layer preamble otherthan the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping, and if the 1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble isthe same as the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, andany field of the new physical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) fielduses a rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping, determine thatthe PPDU is a target PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the determining unit is configuredto determine whether a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preambleuses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping.

For beneficial effects of the communication apparatus provided in thetenth aspect and the possible implementations of the tenth aspect, referto the beneficial effects of the fourth aspect and the possibleimplementations of the fourth aspect. Details are not described hereinagain.

According to an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a communication apparatus, used for a transmit end. Thecommunication apparatus includes a generation unit configured togenerate a PPDU including a new physical layer preamble, where the newphysical layer preamble includes a preset field, a check bit of thepreset field is located at a preset location of a data subcarrier, andthe preset location is used to indicate a frame structure of the PPDU,and a sending unit configured to send the PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field is a 1^(st) fieldor a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

For beneficial effects of the communication apparatus provided in theeleventh aspect and the possible implementations of the eleventh aspect,refer to the beneficial effects of the fifth aspect and the possibleimplementations of the fifth aspect. Details are not described hereinagain.

According to a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a communication apparatus, used for a receive end. Thecommunication apparatus includes a receiving unit configured to receivea PPDU including a preamble, where the preamble includes a new physicallayer preamble, and a determining unit configured to determine whether acheck bit of a preset field of the new physical layer preamble islocated at a preset location of a data subcarrier, where the presetlocation is used to indicate that the PPDU is a target PPDU, and if thecheck bit of the preset field of the new physical layer preamble islocated at the preset location of the data subcarrier, determine thatthe PPDU is the target PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field is a 1^(st) fieldor a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

For beneficial effects of the communication apparatus provided in thetwelfth aspect and the possible implementations of the twelfth aspect,refer to the beneficial effects of the sixth aspect and the possibleimplementations of the sixth aspect. Details are not described hereinagain.

According to a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a communication device, including a processor, a memory, and acommunication interface, where the processor controls transmit andreceive actions of the communication interface, the memory stores aprogram, and the processor invokes the program stored in the memory, toperform the method according to any one of the first aspect, the thirdaspect, or the fifth aspect.

According to a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a communication device, including a processor, a memory, and acommunication interface, where the processor controls transmit andreceive actions of the communications interface, the memory stores aprogram, and the processor invokes the program stored in the memory, toperform the method according to any one of the second aspect, the fourthaspect, or the sixth aspect.

According to a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a storage medium. The storage medium stores a computer program,and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the methodaccording to any one of the first aspect, the third aspect, or the fifthaspect is implemented.

According to a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationfurther provides a program product. The program product includes acomputer program (that is, an executable instruction), and the computerprogram is stored in a readable storage medium. At least one processorof a transmit end may read the computer program from the readablestorage medium, and the at least one processor executes the computerprogram such that the transmit end performs the method provided in thefirst aspect, the third aspect, or the fifth aspect.

According to a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a storage medium. The storage medium stores a computer program,and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the methodaccording to any one of the second aspect, the fourth aspect, or thesixth aspect is implemented.

According to an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of this applicationfurther provides a program product. The program product includes acomputer program (that is, an executable instruction), and the computerprogram is stored in a readable storage medium. At least one processorof a receive end may read the computer program from the readable storagemedium, and the at least one processor executes the computer programsuch that the receive end performs the method provided in the secondaspect, the fourth aspect, or the sixth aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application architecture accordingto an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of internal structures of an access point(AP) and a station (STA) according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of an 802.11a PPDUaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of an HT PPDUaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of a very-HT (VHT)PPDU according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3D is a schematic diagram of carrying auto-detection information byan HT PPDU and a VHT PPDU according to an embodiment of thisapplication;

FIG. 3E is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of a high-efficiency(HE) PPDU according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3F is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of an HE PPDUincluding a signature field according to an embodiment of thisapplication;

FIG. 3G is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of an HE PPDUincluding a repeated HE signal A (HE-SIG A) field according to anembodiment of this application;

FIG. 3H is a schematic diagram of a new physical layer preamble of anextremely HT (EHT) PPDU according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a communication method according to anembodiment of this application;

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram 1 of a frame structure of an EHT PPDUaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram 1 of obtaining a CL-SIG shown in FIG. 5Aaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram 2 of obtaining a CL-SIG shown in FIG. 5Aaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram 3 of obtaining a CL-SIG shown in FIG. 5Aaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a communication method according to anotherembodiment of this application;

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram 2 of a frame structure of an EHT PPDUaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram 3 of a frame structure of an EHT PPDUaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a communication method according to stillanother embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatusaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatusaccording to another embodiment of this application; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of acommunication device according to an embodiment of this application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application architecture accordingto an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1 , an example inwhich there is one AP and there are two base STAs is used. Theapplication architecture in this embodiment may include an AP, a STA 1,and a STA 2. The AP is communicatively connected to the STA 1 and theSTA 2, the STA 1 is communicatively connected to the STA 2, and the APmay be further communicatively connected to another AP. It should benoted that a communication method provided in the embodiments of thisapplication may be used for communication between APs, communicationbetween STAs, and communication between an AP and a STA. The AP may beused as a receive end or a transmit end. The STA may be used as areceive end or a transmit end.

The AP includes but is not limited to a communication server, a router,a switch, a bridge, or the like. The STA includes but is not limited toa computer, a mobile phone, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2 , an internal structure of each of the AP and the STAmay include, for example, an antenna, a radio frequency module, aphysical (PHY) layer baseband module, a media access control (MAC) layermodule, a logical link control (LLC) module, an Internet Protocol (IP)processing module, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/User DatagramProtocol (UDP) processing module, and an application layer module. TheIP module and the LLC module may communicate with each other through anupper-layer interface. There may be one or more antennas, and the STAand the AP may have a same quantity of antennas or different quantitiesof antennas.

It should be noted that the AP and the STA may support the 802.11standard. The 802.11 standard mainly relates to a PHY layer and a MAClayer. This application mainly relates to a PPDU.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, a frame structure of a PPDU (which may bedenoted as an 802.11a PPDU) is defined in the 802.11a standard, andincludes the following fields: data and a legacy physical layerpreamble. The legacy physical layer preamble includes a legacy-shorttraining field (L-STF), a legacy-long training field (L-LTF), and anL-SIG field.

In addition, the 802.11a standard is a first-generation mainstream WI-FIprotocol, and the PPDU frame structure of the 802.11a PPDU includes onlythe legacy physical layer preamble and the data field and does notinclude other preamble fields. Therefore, a PPDU complying with the802.11a standard does not carry information for automatically detectingthat the PPDU is an 802.11a PPDU.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, based on FIG. 3A, a frame structure of amixed format (MF) PPDU (which may be denoted as an HT PPDU or an 802.11nPPDU) is defined in the 802.11n standard, and includes the followingfields: data, a legacy physical layer preamble, and a new physical layerpreamble. The new physical layer preamble includes: an HT signal(HT-SIG) field, an HT short training field (HT-STF), and an HT longtraining field (HT-LTF). The HT-SIG includes two OFDM symbols, and eachOFDM symbol has duration of 4 microseconds (μs).

To differentiate between an HT PPDU and an 802.11a PPDU, a PPDUcomplying with the 802.11n standard needs to carry information forautomatically detecting that the PPDU is an HT PPDU. Further, both thetwo OFDM symbols included in the 802.11n HT-SIG need to use a rotatedBPSK (or quadrature BPSK (QBPSK)) mode for constellation point mapping.The QBPSK is equivalent to rotating a phase of BPSK by 90 degrees suchthat information carried on an I axis is shifted to a Q axis. An 802.11nreceive end compares Q-axis energy with I-axis energy. When an energydifference is greater than a threshold, the 802.11n receive enddetermines that a received PPDU is an HT PPDU, or when an energydifference is less than or equal to a threshold, the 802.11n receive enddetermines that the received PPDU is an 802.11a PPDU.

As shown in FIG. 3C, based on FIG. 3A, a frame structure of a PPDU(which may be denoted as a VHT PPDU or an 802.11ac PPDU) is defined inthe 802.11ac standard, and includes the following fields: data, a legacyphysical layer preamble, and a new physical layer preamble. The newphysical layer preamble includes: a VHT signal A field (VHT-SIG A), aVHT short training field (VHT-STF), a VHT long training field (VHT-LTF),and a VHT signal B field (VHT-SIG B). The VHT-SIG A (which may also bedenoted as VHTSIGA) includes two OFDM symbols, and each symbol hasduration of 4 μs.

To differentiate between a VHT PPDU, an HT PPDU, and an 802.11a PPDU, aPPDU complying with the 802.11ac standard needs to carry information forautomatically detecting that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU. Further, a 1^(st)OFDM of the VHT-SIG A uses a BPSK mode for constellation point mapping,and a 2^(nd) OFDM of the VHT-SIG A uses a QBPSK mode for constellationpoint mapping. A receive end determines an energy difference betweenQ-axis energy and an I-axis energy of each of the two OFDM symbols ofthe VHT-SIG-A. When an energy difference obtained by subtracting theI-axis energy from the Q-axis energy of the 1^(st) OFDM symbol is lessthan a threshold, and an energy difference obtained by subtracting theI-axis energy from the Q-axis energy of the 2^(nd) OFDM symbol isgreater than the threshold, the receive end determines that a receivedPPDU is a VHT PPDU.

A manner of carrying auto-detection information by the new physicallayer preamble of the 802.11n HT PPDU and a manner of carryingauto-detection information by the new physical layer preamble of the802.11ac VHT PPDU may be further shown in FIG. 3D.

Still further, as shown in FIG. 3E, based on FIG. 3A, a frame structureof a PPDU (which may be denoted as an HE PPDU or an 802.11ax PPDU) isdefined in the 802.11ax standard, and includes the following fields:data, a legacy physical layer preamble, and a new physical layerpreamble. The new physical layer preamble includes: an HE signal A field(HE-SIG A), an HE signal B field (HE-SIG B), an HE short training field(HE-STF), and an HE long training field (HE-LTF).

To differentiate between an HE PPDU, a VHT PPDU, an HT PPDU, and an802.11a PPDU, a PPDU complying with the 802.11ax standard needs to carryinformation for automatically detecting that the PPDU is an HE PPDU.Further, a repeated legacy signal (RL-SIG) field is added between theL-SIG and the HE-SIG A. Data carried on each frequency-domain subcarrierof the RL-SIG is the same as data carried on each frequency-domainsubcarrier of the L-SIG. A receive end determines, by comparing whetherthe L-SIG is the same as the RL-SIG, whether a received PPDU is an HEPPDU. To improve accuracy of a determining result, the receive end mayfurther determine, by determining whether a value of a length field inthe L-SIG field can be exactly divided by 3, whether the received PPDUis an HE PPDU. Further, if the value of the length field cannot beexactly divided by 3, the receive end determines that the received PPDUis an HE PPDU, or if the value of the length field can be exactlydivided by 3, the receive end determines that the received PPDU is aPPDU defined in a standard earlier than 802.11ax. It should be notedthat the value of the length field of the L-SIG field in the PPDUdefined in the standard earlier than 802.11ax can be exactly divided by3, but the value of the length field of the L-SIG field in the 802.11axPPDU cannot be exactly divided by 3.

In addition, in discussion of the PPDU frame structure of the HE PPDU,the following two types of information for automatically detecting thata PPDU is an HE PPDU are further provided.

1. A signature field is added after the L-SIG, and a specific PPDU framestructure may be shown in FIG. 3F. The signature field includes asignature sequence, and the signature sequence has a length of 1 bit to26 bits. A longer signature sequence indicates better performance buthigher overheads. The receive end decodes the signature field, andcompares a similarity between a locally stored signature sequence and areceived signature sequence. If the similarity is greater than athreshold, the receive end determines that the received PPDU is an HEPPDU, of if the similarity is less than or equal to a threshold, thereceive end determines that the received PPDU is not an HE PPDU.However, the signature sequence causes extra overheads to the preamble,and has a disadvantage of carrying no other functions but only anauto-detection function.

2. A repeated HE-SIG A is used, and a specific PPDU structure may beshown in FIG. 3G. The receive end compares a similarity between two OFDMsymbols following a received L-SIG. If the similarity is greater than athreshold, the receive end determines that the received PPDU is an HEPPDU, of if the similarity is less than or equal to a threshold, thereceive end determines that the received PPDU is not an HE PPDU.However, the comparison between the two OFDM symbols following the L-SIGresults in a delay in auto-detection.

Currently, a next-generation 802.11 standard is proposed based on theforegoing 802.11 standards. A frame structure of a PPDU (which may bedenoted as a next-generation PPDU, for example, an EHT PPDU) is definedin the next-generation 802.11 standard, and includes the followingfields: data, a legacy physical layer preamble, and a new physical layerpreamble. When the next-generation PPDU is an EHT PPDU, as shown in FIG.3H, the new physical layer preamble may include, for example, an EHTsignal 1 field (EHT-SIG1), an EHT signal 2 field (EHT-SIG2), an EHTshort training field (EHT-STF), and an EHT long training field(EHT-LTF). The EHT-SIG1 may be used to carry common signal such as abandwidth. The EHT-SIG2 may be used to carry signal such as a resourceallocation indication and station information. The EHT-STF may be usedby the receive end for automatic gain control (AGC). The EHT-LTF may beused by the receive end for channel estimation. Optionally, the newphysical layer preamble may further include an EHT signal 3 field(EHT-SIG3). For example, the EHT-SIG3 follows the EHT-LTF. A subcarrierspacing corresponding to an OFDM symbol in a data field of each of theEHT-STF, the EHT-LTF, and the EHT-SIG3 may be less than a subcarrierspacing corresponding to an OFDM symbol of the legacy physical layerpreamble.

To differentiate between a next-generation PPDU and existing PPDUs suchas an HE PPDU, a VHT PPDU, an HT PPDU, and an 802.11a PPDU, and to avoidusing the foregoing two types of information, how a new physical layerpreamble of a PPDU carries information for automatically detecting thatthe PPDU is a next-generation PPDU in the next-generation 802.11standard is mainly discussed in this application.

The technical solutions of this application are described in detailusing the following specific embodiments. The following several specificembodiments may be combined with each other, and same or similarconcepts or processes may not be described repeatedly in someembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a communication method according to anembodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 4 , the method in thisembodiment may include the following steps.

Step 401: A transmit end generates a PPDU including a preamble.

In this step, the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preamble anda new physical layer preamble. The legacy physical layer preambleincludes the L-STF, the L-LTF, and the L-SIG in FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F, andcan be decoded by a receive end that supports the 802.11a standard. Thenew physical layer preamble is different from the new physical layerpreamble in FIG. 3B to FIG. 3F, and can be decoded by a receive end thatsupports a next-generation 802.11 standard. In consideration ofcompatibility, the receive end that supports the next-generation 802.11standard can also support the 802.11 a standard. Therefore, the legacyphysical layer preamble can be decoded by a plurality of receive ends,and the new physical layer preamble can be decoded by a portion of theplurality of receive ends. Further, the legacy physical layer preamblecan be successfully received by an existing WI-FI device and anext-generation WI-FI device. However, the new physical layer preamblecan be successfully received by the next-generation WI-FI device, butcannot be received by the existing WI-FI device.

The new physical layer preamble includes a repeated field. The repeatedfield is a field that has a preset out-of-order relationship with apreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain.To be specific, in frequency domain, after transform of the presetout-of-order relationship is performed on the repeated field, therepeated field may be the same as the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble. After inverse transform of the transform isperformed on the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, thepreset field may be the same as the repeated field.

It should be noted that, when the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble includes a plurality of OFDM symbols, there is the presetout-of-order relationship between the repeated field and the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain.Further, there may be the preset out-of-order relationship between oneOFDM symbol of the repeated field and one OFDM symbol of the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain, orthere may be the preset out-of-order relationship between each of aplurality of OFDM symbols of the repeated field and each a plurality ofOFDM symbols of the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamblein frequency domain.

Optionally, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble maybe any one of the L-STF, the L-LTF, or the L-SIG. For ease ofimplementation, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamblemay be the L-SIG.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the repeated field in thenew physical layer preamble is used to carry information forautomatically detecting that the PPDU is a next-generation PPDU. Inaddition to the repeated field, the new physical layer preamble mayfurther include a field used to carry a new function indication providedin the next-generation 802.11 standard. The new physical layer preamblemay further include, for example but not limited to, the field shown inFIG. 3H.

For example, the next-generation PPDU is an EHT PPDU, and the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble is an L-SIG. A framestructure of the EHT PPDU may be shown in FIG. 5A. A CL-SIG is arepeated field, and there is a preset out-of-order relationship betweenthe CL-SIG and the L-SIG in frequency domain.

Interleaving processing, out-of-order processing, scrambling processing,and the like can be used to implement frequency-domain out of orderprocessing. Therefore, one or more of interleaving processing,out-of-order processing, scrambling processing, and the like may beperformed to enable the repeated field to be the field that has thepreset out-of-order relationship with the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble in frequency domain.

Optionally, assuming that a frequency-domain processing process ofgenerating an OFDM symbol of the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble is a first frequency-domain processing process, and thata frequency-domain processing process of generating an OFDM symbol ofthe repeated field is a second processing process, the repeated fieldthat has the preset out-of-order relationship with the preset field ofthe legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain may be generatedin any one of the following three manners.

Manner 1: The first frequency-domain processing process includesinterleaving processing, and the second frequency-domain processingprocess does not include interleaving processing.

Further, for example, the next-generation PPDU is the EHT PPDU, thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble is the L-SIG, and theframe structure of the EHT PPDU is shown in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG.5B, after channel coding, interleaving processing, constellation pointmapping, and inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) are sequentiallyperformed on a frequency-domain information bit carried in the L-SIGfield, the L-SIG is generated. After channel coding, constellation pointmapping processing, and IFFT are sequentially performed on theinformation bit, the CL-SIG is generated. That is, the interleavingprocessing step performed in the process of generating the L-SIG may notbe performed.

Optionally, an only difference between the first frequency-domainprocessing process and the second frequency-domain processing processmay lie in that, the first frequency-domain processing process includesinterleaving processing, but the second frequency-domain processingprocess does not include interleaving processing. Except that, otherprocessing is the same. For example, a constellation point mapping modein the first processing process is the same as a constellation pointmapping mode in the second frequency-domain processing process. Foranother example, coding and IFFT performed in the secondfrequency-domain processing process of generating the CL-SIG are thesame as coding and IFFT performed in the first frequency-domainprocessing process of generating the L-SIG. Cyclic shift delay (CSD)processing, cyclic prefix (CP) processing, and the like may be furtherperformed after IFFT.

Alternatively, optionally, in addition to the difference that the firstfrequency-domain processing process includes interleaving processing andthe second frequency-domain processing process does not includeinterleaving processing, there may be another difference between theprocessing process of generating the CL-SIG and the processing processof generating the L-SIG. For example, a constellation point mapping modein the first processing process is different from a constellation pointmapping mode in the second frequency-domain processing process.

Manner 2: The first frequency-domain processing process does not includescrambling processing, and the second frequency-domain processingprocess includes scrambling processing.

Further, for example, the next-generation PPDU is the EHT PPDU, thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble is the L-SIG, and theframe structure of the EHT PPDU is shown in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG.5C, after channel coding, interleaving processing, constellation pointmapping, and IFFT are sequentially performed on a frequency-domaininformation bit carried in the L-SIG field, the L-SIG is generated.After channel coding, scrambling processing, interleaving processing,constellation point mapping processing, and IFFT are sequentiallyperformed on the information bit, the CL-SIG is generated. It should benoted that, alternatively, scrambling processing may be performed beforechannel coding, or may be performed after interleaving processing andbefore constellation point mapping. A scrambler relating to scramblingprocessing may be a scrambler of IEEE 802.11a.

Optionally, an only difference between the first frequency-domainprocessing process and the second frequency-domain processing processmay lie in that, the first frequency-domain processing process does notinclude scrambling processing, but the second frequency-domainprocessing process includes scrambling processing. Except that, otherprocessing is the same.

Alternatively, optionally, in addition to the difference that the firstfrequency-domain processing process does not include scramblingprocessing and the second frequency-domain processing process includesscrambling processing, there may be another difference between theprocessing process of generating the CL-SIG and the processing processof generating the L-SIG. For example, a constellation point mapping modein the first processing process is different from a constellation pointmapping mode in the second frequency-domain processing process.

It should be noted that, in FIG. 5C, that scrambling processing isperformed before IFFT and after constellation point mapping is used asan example. Scrambling processing may be performed before IFFT.Optionally, scrambling processing may be performed before channel codingor after constellation point mapping.

Manner 3: The first frequency-domain processing process does not includeout-of-order processing for a data symbol, and the secondfrequency-domain processing process includes out-of-order processing fora data symbol.

Further, for example, the next-generation PPDU is the EHT PPDU, thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble is the L-SIG, and theframe structure of the EHT PPDU is shown in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG.5D, after channel coding, interleaving processing, constellation pointmapping, and IFFT are sequentially performed on a frequency-domaininformation bit carried in the L-SIG field, the L-SIG is generated.After channel coding, interleaving processing, constellation pointmapping processing, out-of-order processing, and IFFT are sequentiallyperformed on the information bit, the CL-SIG is generated.

Optionally, an only difference between the first frequency-domainprocessing process and the second frequency-domain processing processmay lie in that, the first frequency-domain processing process does notinclude out-of-order processing for a data symbol, but the secondfrequency-domain processing process includes out-of-order processing fora data symbol. Except that, other processing is the same. Alternatively,optionally, an only difference between the processing process ofgenerating the CL-SIG and the processing process of generating the L-SIGlies in that, the first frequency-domain processing process does notinclude out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and the secondfrequency-domain processing process includes out-of-order processing fora data symbol.

It should be noted that a data symbol is generated after constellationpoint mapping is performed on an information bit.

Optionally, out-of-order processing includes any one of performingcyclic shift on data symbols carried on data subcarriers, interchangingdata symbols carried on odd-numbered and even-numbered data subcarriers,and interchanging data symbols carried in high-frequency andlow-frequency data subcarrier subsets.

Optionally, the data symbols carried on the data subcarriers may becyclically shifted by n bits, where n may be an integer greater than 0and less than a quantity of data subcarriers. For example, the quantityof data subcarriers is 48, where n=1, . . . , 47. Further, it is assumedthat, in the first frequency-domain processing process, afterconstellation point mapping is performed, data symbols carried on the 48data subcarriers ranked from a low frequency to a high frequency arerespectively D1, D2, . . . , and D48, and n=1. After cyclic shift isperformed on the data symbols carried on the data subcarriers, the datasymbols carried on the 48 data subcarriers ranked from the low frequencyto the high frequency are respectively D2, D3, . . . , D48, and D1. Itshould be noted that cyclic shift may be performed on the data symbolsafter constellation point mapping, or cyclic shift may be performed,before constellation point mapping, on coding bits obtained throughchannel coding.

Optionally, assuming that a quantity of data subcarriers is m, andnumbers (which may also be referred to as sequence numbers) of the mdata subcarriers ranked from a low frequency to a high frequency arerespectively 1, . . . , and m, an odd-numbered data subcarrier and aneven-numbered data subcarrier may be grouped into one group to obtainm/2 groups, and a data symbol carried on the odd-numbered datasubcarrier and a data symbol carried on the even-numbered datasubcarrier in one group are interchanged. For example, it is assumedthat, in the first frequency-domain processing process, afterconstellation point mapping is performed, data symbols carried on 48data subcarriers ranked from the low frequency to the high frequency arerespectively D1, D2, . . . , and D48. After a data symbol carried on anodd-numbered data subcarrier and a data symbol carried on aneven-numbered data carrier are interchanged, the data symbols carried onthe 48 data subcarriers ranked from the low frequency to the highfrequency are respectively D2, D1, D4, D3, . . . , D48, and D47.Alternatively, when there is a one-to-one correspondence between codingbits obtained through channel coding and data symbols, each coding bitmay correspond to one data subcarrier. Alternatively, beforeconstellation point mapping, coding bits that are obtained throughchannel coding and that correspond to odd-numbered and even-numbereddata subcarriers may be interchanged.

Optionally, a set including all data subcarriers may be divided, basedon frequencies of the data subcarriers, into a high-frequency datasubcarrier subset and a low-frequency data subcarrier subsetcorresponding to the high-frequency subcarrier subset. A frequency of adata subcarrier in the high-frequency subcarrier subset is higher than afrequency of a data subcarrier in the low-frequency subcarrier subsetcorresponding to the high-frequency subcarrier subset. A data symbolcarried on a data subcarrier in the high-frequency data subcarriersubset and a data symbol carried on a data subcarrier in thelow-frequency subcarrier subset corresponding to the high-frequencysubcarrier subset are interchanged. It should be noted that there may beone or more high-frequency subcarrier subsets, and one low-frequencysubcarrier subset corresponds to one high-frequency subcarrier subset.For example, there are 48 data subcarriers, there is one high-frequencysubcarrier subset, and in the first frequency-domain processing process,data symbols carried on the 48 data subcarriers ranked from a lowfrequency to a high frequency after constellation point mapping arerespectively D1, D2, . . . , and D48. After data symbols carried on datasubcarriers in the high-frequency subcarrier subset and data symbolscarried on data subcarriers in the low-frequency data subcarrier subsetare interchanged, the data symbols carried on the 48 data subcarriersranked from the low frequency to the high frequency are respectivelyD25, D26, . . . , D48, D1, D2, . . . , and D24. Alternatively, whenthere is a one-to-one correspondence between coding bits obtainedthrough channel coding and data symbols, each coding bit may correspondto one data subcarrier. Alternatively, before constellation pointmapping, coding bits that are obtained through channel coding and thatcorrespond to high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarriers may beinterchanged.

It should be noted that, in addition to the foregoing three specificout-of-order processing manners that are described in detail, anotherout-of-order processing manner may be used. For example, every 12 datasubcarriers are grouped into one group to obtain four groups: a group 1,a group 2, a group 3, and a group 4. Data symbols carried on datasubcarriers in the group 1 and data symbols carried on data subcarriersin the group 2 are interchanged. Data symbols carried on datasubcarriers in the group 3 and data symbols carried on data subcarriersin the group 4 are interchanged. For example, for all of the datasubcarriers, data symbols carried on two specific data subcarriers areinterchanged. Alternatively, when there is a one-to-one correspondencebetween coding bits obtained through channel coding and data symbols,each coding bit may correspond to one data subcarrier. Alternatively,before constellation point mapping, coding bits that are obtainedthrough channel coding and that correspond to different data subcarriersmay be changed correspondingly.

Optionally, for the CL-SIG field, based on the foregoing manner, datasymbol carried on m data subcarriers may be point multiplied by an m-bitrandom sequence, to carry additional information. Optionally, a sequencevalue of the random sequence may be 1 or −1, but is not limited to thetwo values. Optionally, the m-bit random sequence is a sequence whosebits are all −1. Alternatively, in the m-bit random sequence, half ofbits are 1, and the other half of bits are −1. Further, optionally, adata symbol carried on an odd-numbered data subcarrier may be multipliedby 1, and a data symbol carried on an even-numbered data subcarrier maybe multiplied by −1. Alternatively, a data symbol carried on a datasubcarrier in a high-frequency data subcarrier subset may be multipliedby 1, and a data symbol carried on a data subcarrier in a low-frequencydata subcarrier subset may be multiplied by −1. Alternatively, a datasymbol carried on an odd-numbered data subcarrier may be multiplied by×1, and a data symbol carried on an even-numbered data subcarrier may bemultiplied by 1. Alternatively, a data symbol carried on a datasubcarrier in a high-frequency data subcarrier subset may be multipliedby −1, and a data symbol carried on a data subcarrier in a low-frequencydata subcarrier subset may be multiplied by 1.

Further, optionally, two values of the m-bit random sequence may be usedto carry one-bit signal indicating a preamble. For example, a sequencewhose bits are all 1 may be used to indicate that an EHT PPDU is apreamble puncturing EHT PPDU, and a sequence whose bits are all −1 maybe used to indicate that an EHT PPDU is not a preamble puncturing EHTPPDU. Herein, a concept of preamble puncturing is similar to that ofpreamble puncturing of a PPDU in 802.11ax. For example, preamblepuncturing may indicate that a preamble and a data field are nottransmitted on a 20-MHz bandwidth of a bandwidth.

It should be noted that, in FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D, an example in which therepeated field is a 1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble isused. Optionally, the repeated field may be alternatively a 2^(nd) fieldof the new physical layer preamble.

Optionally, the BPSK mode may be used for constellation point mapping inthe second frequency-domain processing process.

Optionally, when the repeated field is the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble, the repeated field uses an unrotatedconstellation point mapping mode (excluding QBPSK), for example, BPSK.When the repeated field is the 1^(st) field of the new physical layerpreamble, the repeated field may use a constellation point mapping modesuch as BPSK or QBPSK. This is not limited.

Optionally, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG of the legacy preamble is exactly divided by 3.Alternatively, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is not exactly dividedby 3.

It should be noted that, because an 802.11n receive end performs autodetection by determining a constellation point mapping mode used for a1st OFDM field following the L-SIG, when the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble uses the QBPSK mode for constellation pointmapping, the following problem may be caused. The 802.11n receive enddetermines, on the basis that the 1^(st) OFDM field following the L-SIGuses the QBPSK mode for constellation point mapping, that the PPDU is anHT PPDU, and if the PPDU is not an HT PPDU actually, the 802.11n receiveend may incorrectly decode the 1^(st) field of the new physical layerpreamble, for example, the 802.11n receive end fails to perform a cyclicredundancy check, and the 802.11n receive end does not comply with thelength field of the L-SIG to enter a silent time period. As a result,this behavior may interfere with the PPDU that is being transmitted.

In this embodiment of this application, when the repeated field is the1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble, the repeated field usesan unrotated constellation point mapping mode (excluding QBPSK). Thiscan prevent the 802.11n receive end from mistakenly determining anext-generation PPDU as an HT PPDU, thereby avoiding a dangerousbehavior of not complying with the length field in the L-SIG.

It should be noted that, even though another receive end, for example,an 802.11a receive end, an 802.11ac receive end, or an 802.11ax receiveend mistakenly determine, through auto-detection, the next-generationPPDU as an 802.11a PPDU, an 802.11ac VHT PPDU, or an 802.11ax HE PPDUrespectively, the foregoing dangerous behavior that the 802.11n receiveend does not comply with the length field in the L-SIG does not occur.

Optionally, when the repeated field is the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble, any field of the new physical layer preambleother than the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellationpoint mapping. Any field of the new physical layer preamble other thanthe 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping such that the receive end can further determine, in an enhancedmanner based on the constellation point mapping mode used for the fieldother than the Pt field, whether a received PPDU is a next-generationPPDU. This improves accuracy of a determining result. Optionally, thefield, other than the 1^(st) field, that uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping may be the 2^(nd) field of the new physicallayer preamble, for example, a 2^(nd) OFDM symbol of the new physicallayer preamble.

It should be noted that, in the first frequency-domain processingprocess and the second frequency-domain processing process, informationbits before channel coding may be the same, and information bits afterchannel coding may be the same or different. That is, in afrequency-domain processing process, a bit input to a channel encoderfor the repeated field may be the same as a bit input to the channelencoder for the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, andspecific channel coding modes may be the same or different.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, IFFT may alternatively bereplaced with inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT).

Step 402: The transmit end sends the PPDU.

In this step, optionally, the transmit end may send the PPDU in abroadcast or unicast manner.

Step 403: The receive end determines whether the new physical layerpreamble of the PPDU includes the repeated field.

In this step, the repeated field is the field that has the presetout-of-order relationship with the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble of the PPDU in frequency domain. For specificdescriptions of the preset out-of-order relationship, refer to step 401.Details are not described herein again. If the new physical layerpreamble includes the repeated field, the PPDU is a target PPDU, thatis, a next-generation PPDU.

Optionally, determining whether the new physical layer preamble includesa repeated field may include determining a similarity between firstinformation and second information, where the first information isobtained by performing a first decoding processing process on the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble, and the second informationis obtained by performing a second decoding processing process on therepeated field, and if the similarity is greater than or equal to apreset threshold, determining that the new physical layer preambleincludes the repeated field, or if the similarity is less than a presetthreshold, determining that the new physical layer preamble does notinclude the repeated field.

It should be noted that types of the first information and the secondinformation may be types that can reflect the preset out-of-orderrelationship. The types of the first information and the secondinformation are the same, for example, both are information bits or datasymbols. The first decoding processing process and the second decodingprocessing process each may include all decoding processes, or mayinclude a portion of decoding processes.

It should be noted that, if the similarity is less than the presetthreshold, it is determined whether the new physical layer preambleincludes information used for auto-detection of another 802.11 standard.

Corresponding to step 401, optionally, a relationship between the firstdecoding processing process and the second decoding processing processmay include the following three types.

Type 1: The first decoding processing process includes de-interleavingprocessing, and the second decoding processing process does not includede-interleaving processing.

For example, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble isthe L-SIG. The receive end may decode the L-SIG by performing a decodingprocessing process of an existing legacy preamble of the 802.11. Whenthe receive end decodes a CL-SIG, after the receive end performsconstellation point de-mapping, the receive end does not performde-interleaving, but performs binary convolutional coding (BCC) channeldecoding. Further, the receive end may compare a similarity between aninformation bit obtained by decoding the L-SIG and an information bitobtained by decoding the CL-SIG. If the similarity is greater than apreset threshold, the receive end determines that the PPDU is an EHTPPDU, or the similarity is less than or equal to a preset threshold, thereceive end determines that the PPDU is not an EHT PPDU. Alternatively,the receive end may compare a similarity between a coding bit obtainedby de-interleaving the L-SIG and a coding bit obtained by performingconstellation point de-mapping on the CL-SIG. If the similarity isgreater than a preset threshold, the receive end determines that thePPDU is an EHT PPDU, or the similarity is less than or equal to a presetthreshold, the receive end determines that the PPDU is not an EHT PPDU.

Type 2: The first decoding processing process does not includede-scrambling processing, and the second decoding processing processincludes de-scrambling processing.

For example, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble isthe L-SIG. The receive end may compare a similarity between secondinformation and first information, where the second information isobtained by performing de-scrambling processing or other processing (forexample, channel decoding) after de-scrambling processing on the CL-SIG,and the first information is obtained by performing correspondingprocessing on the L-SIG. If the similarity is greater than a presetthreshold, the receive end may determine that the PPDU is an EHT PPDU,or the similarity is less than or equal to a preset threshold, thereceive end may determine that the PPDU is not an EHT PPDU.

Type 3: The first decoding processing process does not includede-out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and the second decodingprocessing process includes de-out-of-order processing for a datasymbol.

Similar to step 401, de-out-of-order processing for a data symbolincludes any one of performing cyclic shift on data symbols carried ondata subcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried on odd-numbered andeven-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging data symbols carriedin high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarrier subsets.

For example, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble isthe L-SIG. The receive end may compare a similarity between secondinformation and first information, where the second information isobtained by performing de-out-of-order processing for a data symbol orother processing (for example, channel decoding) after de-out-of-orderprocessing for a data symbol on the CL-SIG, and the first information isobtained by performing corresponding processing on the L-SIG. If thesimilarity is greater than a preset threshold, the receive enddetermines that the PPDU is an EHT PPDU, or the similarity is less thanor equal to a preset threshold, the receive end determines that the PPDUis not an EHT PPDU. It should be noted that de-out-of-order processingfor a data symbol in step 403 is reverse to out-of-order processing instep 401. For specific content of de-out-of-order processing for a datasymbol, refer to out-of-order processing. Details are not describedherein again.

Optionally, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is exactly divided by 3.Alternatively, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is not exactly dividedby 3.

Optionally, after it is determined that the new physical layer preambleof the PPDU includes the repeated field, an information bit obtained bydecoding the PPDU may be parsed based on a frame structure of thenext-generation PPDU.

In this embodiment, the transmit end generates and sends the PPDUincluding the preamble, where the preamble includes the legacy physicallayer preamble and the new physical layer preamble, the new physicallayer preamble includes the repeated field, the repeated field is thefield that has the preset out-of-order relationship with the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain. Thereceive end determines whether the new physical layer preamble of thereceived PPDU includes the repeated field. If the PPDU includes therepeated field, the receive end determines that the PPDU is the targetPPDU, that is, the next-generation PPDU. In this way, auto-detection ofthe physical layer preamble of the PPDU in the next-generation 802.11standard is implemented. In addition, robustness of the preset field ofthe legacy physical layer preamble is enhanced by setting the repeatedfield. This provides a possibility of outdoor transmission.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a communication method according to anotherembodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 6 , the method in thisembodiment may include the following steps.

Step 601: A transmit end generates a PPDU including a physical preamble.

In this step, the physical preamble includes a legacy physical layerpreamble and a new physical layer preamble. The legacy physical layerpreamble includes the L-STF, the L-LTF, and the L-SIG in FIG. 3A to FIG.3F, and can be decoded by a receive end that supports the 802.11astandard. The new physical layer preamble is different from the newphysical layer preamble in

FIG. 3B to FIG. 3F, and can be decoded by a receive end that supports anext-generation 802.11 standard. In consideration of compatibility, thereceive end that supports the next-generation 802.11 standard can alsosupport the 802.11a standard. Therefore, the legacy physical layerpreamble can be decoded by a plurality of receive ends, and the newphysical layer preamble can be decoded by a portion of the plurality ofreceive ends.

A 1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble is the same as thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, and any field of thenew physical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotatedBPSK mode for constellation point mapping. Alternatively, a 2^(nd) fieldof the new physical layer preamble is the same as the preset field ofthe legacy preamble.

Optionally, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble maybe any one of the L-STF, the L-LTF, or the L-SIG. For ease ofimplementation, the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamblemay be the L-SIG.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble is the same as the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, to carry information for automaticallydetecting that the PPDU is a next-generation PPDU. In addition to the1^(st) field, the new physical layer preamble may further include afield, other than the 1^(st) field, used to carry a new functionindication provided in the next-generation 802.11 standard. The newphysical layer preamble may further include, for example, the fieldshown in FIG. 3H.

For example, the next-generation PPDU is an EHT PPDU, and the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble is an L-SIG. A framestructure of the EHT PPDU may be shown in FIG. 7A. An RL-SIG is a fieldthat is the same as the L-SIG in the new physical layer preamble.

In FIG. 7A, further, any field of an EHT-SIG1, an EHT-SIG2, an EHT-STF,or an EHT-LTF uses a rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping,such as QBPSK.

It should be noted that, when any field other than the 1^(st) field usesthe rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping, if the fieldincludes a plurality of OFDM symbols, the plurality of OFDM symbols mayuse the rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping, or a portionof the plurality of OFDM symbols (for example, a 1^(st) OFDM symbol) mayuse the rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping. This may notbe limited in this application. Optionally, a 1^(st) field following theRL-SIG may be QBPSK modulated, or a 1^(st) OFDM symbol following theRL-SIG may be QBPSK modulated.

Optionally, the 2^(ndt) field of the new physical layer preamble usesthe rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping. The 2^(nd) fieldof the new physical layer preamble uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping such that the receive end determine, asearly as possible, that the PPDU is the next-generation PPDU.

Alternatively, in this embodiment, the 2^(nd) field (for example, a2^(nd) OFDM symbol) of the physical layer preamble is the same as thepreset field of the legacy preamble, and may carry information forautomatically detecting that the PPDU is the next-generation PPDU.Correspondingly, the following step 603 may be replaced with thefollowing: The receive end determines whether the 2^(nd) field of thenew physical layer preamble of the received PPDU is the same as thepreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble. Further, if the2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble of the PPDU is the sameas the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, the receiveend determines that the PPDU is a target PPDU, that is, thenext-generation PPDU. If the 2^(nd) field of the new physical layerpreamble of the PPDU is different from the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble, the receive end determines that the PPDU is notthe target PPDU. Optionally, the 1^(st) field (for example, a 1^(st)OFDM symbol) of the new physical layer preamble is BPSK modulated. Thatis, symbols carried on all data subcarriers on the OFDM symbol are BPSKmodulated.

For example, the next-generation PPDU is an EHT PPDU, and the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble is an L-SIG. A framestructure of the EHT PPDU may be shown in FIG. 7B. An RL-SIG is a fieldthat is the same as the L-SIG in the new physical layer preamble. Inaddition, the RL-SIG mentioned herein may alternatively be replaced withthe CL-SIG in the foregoing embodiment.

It should be noted that the RL-SIG in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B is the same asthe RL-SIG in FIG. 3E, and both are a repeat field of the L-SIG.

Step 602: The transmit end sends the PPDU.

In this step, optionally, the transmit end may send the PPDU in abroadcast or unicast manner.

Step 603: The receive end determines whether the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble of the PPDU is the same as the preset field ofthe legacy physical layer preamble, and whether any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotatedBPSK mode for constellation point mapping.

In this step, if the 1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble ofthe PPDU is the same as the preset field of the legacy physical layerpreamble, and any field of the new physical layer preamble other thanthe 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping, the receive end determines that the PPDU is a target PPDU, thatis, the next-generation PPDU. If the 1^(st) field of the new physicallayer preamble of the PPDU is different from the preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble, or any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field does not use the rotated BPSK modefor constellation point mapping, the receive end determines that theframe structure of the PPDU is not a frame structure of thenext-generation PPDU.

Optionally, for example, the legacy physical layer preamble such as theL-SIG or the EHT-SIG 1 uses the QBPSK mode for constellation pointmapping. The receive end may first decode the RL-SIG, and then compare asimilarity between the RL-SIG and the L-SIG. If the similarity isgreater than a threshold, the receive end continues to determine whetherthe EHT-SIG 1 uses the QBPSK mode for constellation point mapping, thatis, compares whether a difference obtained by subtracting I-axis energyfrom Q-axis energy is greater than a threshold. If the similarity isgreater than the threshold and the EHT-SIG 1 uses the QBPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, the receive end determines that thereceived PPDU is an EHT PPDU. If the similarity is greater than thethreshold but the EHT-SIG 1 does not use the QBPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, the receive end determines that thereceived PPDU is an 802.11ax HE PPDU.

Optionally, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is exactly divided by 3.Alternatively, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is not exactly dividedby .

It should be noted that, if an 802.11ax receive end receives the PPDU instep 601, the 802.11ax receive end may determine, by comparing thesimilarity between the RL-SIG and the L-SIG, that the received PPDU isthe 802.11ax HE PPDU. However, because the PPDU is not an HE PPDU, evenif the 802.11ax receive end incorrectly performs decoding, the PPDU isnot affected.

Optionally, after the 802.11ax receive end determines that the PPDU isnot the next-generation PPDU, the 802.11ax receive end may furtherdetermine whether the PPDU is another PPDU, for example, whether thePPDU is a VHT PPDU.

Optionally, after the 802.11ax receive end determines that the PPDU isthe next-generation PPDU, the 802.11ax receive end may parse, based onthe frame structure of the next-generation PPDU, an information bitobtained by decoding the PPDU.

In this embodiment, the transmit end generates and sends the PPDUincluding the preamble, where the preamble includes the legacy physicallayer preamble and the new physical layer preamble, the 1^(st) field ofthe new physical layer preamble is the same as the preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping. The receive end determines whether the1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble of the received PPDU isthe same as the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble, andwhether any field of the new physical layer preamble other than the1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping.If the 1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble of the receivedPPDU is the same as the preset field of the legacy physical layerpreamble, and any field of the new physical layer preamble other thanthe 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping, the receive end determines that the PPDU is the target PPDU,that is, the next-generation PPDU. In this way, auto-detection of thephysical layer preamble of the PPDU in the next-generation 802.11standard is implemented.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a communication method according to stillanother embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 8 , the methodin this embodiment may include the following steps.

Step 801: A transmit end generates a PPDU including a preamble.

In this step, the preamble includes a new physical layer preamble. Thenew physical layer preamble includes a preset field, a check bit of thepreset field is located at a preset location of a data subcarrier, andthe preset location is used to indicate a frame structure of the PPDU.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the check bit of the presetfield is located at the preset location of the data subcarrier, to carryinformation for automatically detecting that the PPDU is anext-generation PPDU. The preset field may be further used to carry anew function indication provided in a next-generation 802.11 standard.For example, the PPDU is an EHT PPDU. The preset field may be theEHT-SIG1 in the fields shown in FIG. 3H, or may be the EHT-SIG1 shown inFIG. 5 or FIG. 7 .

In a current technology, the check bit in the PPDU is located at aspecific location of a data subcarrier. To be specific, the check bit islocated after a data subcarrier carrying data signal and before a tailbit used for BCC decoding. The preset location in this embodiment may beany location other than the specific location, to be different from thelocation of the check bit in the current technology in order to carrythe information for automatically detecting that the PPDU is thenext-generation PPDU. Optionally, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

Optionally, the preset field may be a 1^(st) field or a 2^(nd) field ofthe new physical layer preamble.

It should be noted that, when the preset field includes a plurality ofOFDM symbols, check bits of the plurality of OFDM symbols may be alllocated at the preset location of the data subcarrier, or check bits ofa portion of the plurality of OFDM symbols may be located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier. This may not be limited in thisapplication.

Optionally, the method in this embodiment may be combined with themethod embodiment shown in FIG. 4 . Further, on the basis that thenext-generation PPDU is indicated using a repeated field in theembodiment shown in FIG. 4 , that the location of the check bit of thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble is the preset locationmay be further used to indicate the next-generation PPDU.Correspondingly, a receive end needs to determine whether the newphysical layer preamble of the PPDU includes the repeated field, andalso needs to determine whether the location of the check bit of thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble is the preset location.If the new physical layer preamble includes the repeated field, and thelocation of the check bit of the preset field of the new physical layerpreamble is the preset location, the receive end determines that theframe structure of the PPDU is a frame structure of the next-generationPPDU, that is, the receive end determines that the PPDU is thenext-generation PPDU.

Optionally, the method in this embodiment may be combined with themethod embodiment shown in FIG. 6 . Further, on the basis that the1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble is the same as a presetfield of a legacy preamble and that any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping to indicate the next-generation PPDU in theembodiment shown in FIG. 6 , that the location of the preset field ofthe new physical layer preamble is the preset location may be furtherused to indicate the next-generation PPDU. Correspondingly, the receiveend needs to determine whether the 1^(st) field of the new physicallayer preamble in the PPDU is the same as the preset field of the legacypreamble, and whether any field of the new physical layer preamble otherthan the 1^(st) field uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping, and also needs to determine whether the location of the checkbit of the preset field of the new physical layer preamble is the presetlocation. If the 1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble is thesame as the preset field of the legacy preamble, any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses the rotatedBPSK mode for constellation point mapping, and the location of the checkbit of the preset field of the new physical layer preamble is the presetlocation, the receive end determines that the frame structure of thePPDU is a frame structure of the next-generation PPDU.

Optionally, in the method in this embodiment, on the basis that if the1^(st) field of the new physical layer preamble is the same as thepreset field of the legacy preamble, it indicates that the PPDU is theHE PPDU or the next-generation PPDU, that the location of the check bitof the preset field of the new physical layer preamble is the presetlocation may be further used to indicate the next-generation PPDU.Correspondingly, the receive end needs to determine whether the 1^(st)field of the new physical layer preamble of the PPDU is the same as thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble, and also needs todetermine whether the location of the check bit of the preset field ofthe new physical layer preamble is the preset location. If the 1^(st)field of the new physical layer preamble of the PPDU is the same as thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble, and the location of thecheck bit of the preset field of the new physical layer preamble is thepreset location, the receive end determines that the frame structure ofthe PPDU is a frame structure of the next-generation PPDU.

It should be noted that the PPDU may further include a legacy physicallayer preamble. The legacy physical layer preamble includes the L-STF,the L-LTF, and the L-SIG in FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F, and can be decoded by areceive end that supports the 802.11a standard. The new physical layerpreamble is different from the new physical layer preamble in FIG. 3B toFIG. 3F, and can be decoded by a receive end that supports thenext-generation 802.11 standard. In consideration of compatibility, thereceive end that supports the next-generation 802.11 standard can alsosupport the 802.11a standard. Therefore, the legacy physical layerpreamble can be decoded by a plurality of receive ends, and the newphysical layer preamble can be decoded by a portion of the plurality ofreceive ends.

Step 802: The transmit end sends the PPDU.

In this step, optionally, the transmit end may send the PPDU in abroadcast or unicast manner.

Step 803: The receive end determines whether the check bit of the presetfield of the new physical layer preamble of the PPDU is located at thepreset location of the data subcarrier.

In this step, if the check bit of the preset field of the new physicallayer preamble of the PPDU is located at the preset location of the datasubcarrier, for example, if a CRC field at the preset location isselected to check the decoded preset field and the check succeeds, thereceive end determines that the PPDU is a target PPDU, that is, thenext-generation PPDU. If the check bit of the preset field of the newphysical layer preamble of the PPDU is not located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier, for example, if a CRC field at thepreset location is selected to check the decoded preset field but thecheck fails, the receive end determines that the frame structure of thePPDU is not the frame structure of the next-generation PPDU.

Optionally, the receive end may extract the check bit from the decodedpreset field (EHT-SIG1) based on the preset location, and then perform acheck (for example, perform a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)) on aninformation bit. If the check succeeds, the receive end determines thatthe received PPDU is the next-generation PPDU.

Optionally, after the receive end determines that the PPDU is not thenext-generation PPDU, the receive end may further determine whether thePPDU is another PPDU, for example, whether the PPDU is a VHT PPDU.

Optionally, after the receive end determines that the PPDU is thenext-generation PPDU, the receive end may parse, based on the framestructure of the next-generation PPDU, an information bit obtained bydecoding the PPDU.

In this embodiment, the transmit end generates and sends the PPDUincluding the preamble, where the preamble includes the new physicallayer preamble, the new physical layer preamble includes the presetfield, the check bit of the preset field is located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier, and the preset location is used toindicate the frame structure of the PPDU. The receive end determineswhether the check bit of the preset field of the new physical layerpreamble of the received PPDU is located at the preset location of thedata subcarrier. If the check bit in the preset field of the newphysical layer preamble is located at the preset location of the datasubcarrier, the receive end determines that the PPDU is the target PPDU,that is, the next-generation PPDU. In this way, auto-detection of thephysical layer preamble of the PPDU in the next-generation 802.11standard is implemented.

Optionally, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is exactly divided by 3.Alternatively, the foregoing plurality of auto-detection manners may befurther used in combination with a manner in which a value of a lengthfield in the L-SIG field of the legacy preamble is not exactly dividedby 3.

It should be noted that the foregoing plurality of automatic detectionmanners may be freely combined to implement automatic detection of thenext-generation PPDU.

It should be noted that the repeated field, the 1^(st) field, the fieldother than the 1^(st) field, the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble, and the preset field of the new physical layer preambleeach may be understood as an OFDM symbol. Further, the 1^(st) field maybe a 1^(st) OFDM symbol, the 2 ^(nd) field may be understood as a 2^(nd)OFDM symbol, and the field other than the 1^(st) field may be understoodas an OFDM symbol other than the 1^(st) OFDM symbol. For example, thefield other than the 1^(st) field may be understood as the 2 ^(nd) OFDMsymbol. Alternatively, the repeated field, the 1 ^(st) field, the fieldother than the 1^(st) field, the preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble, and the preset field of the new physical layer preambleeach may be understood as a field that is constituted by one or moreOFDM symbols. For example, the L-LTF includes two OFDM symbols, and theL-SIG includes one OFDM symbol.

Optionally, in all of the foregoing embodiments, the transmit end mayfurther add, to the L-SIG of the PPDU in frequency domain, data symbolscarried on four subcarriers, and set the data symbols to special values,to further carry the information for automatically detecting that thePPDU is the next-generation PPDU. Optionally, the four subcarriers maybe two subcarriers that are additionally added on two sides of 52 usedsubcarriers (which may include 48 data subcarriers and four pilotsubcarriers). Numbers of the four subcarriers may be [−28−27 27 28].Special values of the data symbols carried on the four subcarriersranked from a low frequency to a high frequency may be values, otherthan [−1−1−1−1−] in the 802.11ax standard, for example, [−1−1−1−1] and[1−1−1−1].

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatusaccording to an embodiment of this application. The communicationapparatus provided in this embodiment may be used for a transmit end. Asshown in FIG. 9 , the communication apparatus in this embodiment mayinclude a generation unit 901 and a sending unit 902.

The generation unit 901 is configured to generate a PPDU including apreamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble, the new physical layer preambleincludes a repeated field, and the repeated field is a field that has apreset out-of-order relationship with a preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble in frequency domain.

The sending unit 902 is configured to send the PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, a first frequency-domain processingprocess of generating an OFDM symbol of the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble includes interleaving processing, and a secondfrequency-domain processing process of generating an OFDM symbol of therepeated field does not include interleaving processing, or the firstfrequency-domain processing process does not include scramblingprocessing, and the second frequency-domain processing process includesscrambling processing, or the first frequency-domain processing processdoes not include out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and thesecond frequency-domain processing process includes out-of-orderprocessing for a data symbol.

In a possible implementation design, out-of-order processing includesany one of performing cyclic shift on data symbols carried on datasubcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried on odd-numbered andeven-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging data symbols carriedin high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarrier subsets.

In a possible implementation design, a BPSK mode is used forconstellation point mapping in the second frequency-domain processingprocess.

In a possible implementation design, the legacy physical layer preamblecan be decoded by a plurality of receive ends, and the new physicallayer preamble can be decoded by a portion of the plurality of receiveends.

In a possible implementation design, a bit input to a channel encoderfor the repeated field is the same as a bit input to the channel encoderfor the preset field of the legacy physical layer preamble in afrequency-domain processing process.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble is an L-SIG field.

In a possible implementation design, the repeated field is a 1^(st)field or a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

In a possible implementation design, the repeated field is a 1^(st)field of the new physical layer preamble, and any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSKmode for constellation point mapping.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may beconfigured to execute the technical solutions on the transmit end sidein the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 . Implementation principles andtechnical effects thereof are similar, and details are not describedherein again.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatusaccording to another embodiment of this application. The communicationapparatus provided in this embodiment may be used for a receive end. Asshown in FIG. 10 , the communication apparatus in this embodiment mayinclude a receiving unit 1001 and a determining unit 1002.

The receiving unit 1001 is configured to receive a PPDU including apreamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble.

The determining unit 1002 is configured to determine whether the newphysical layer preamble includes a repeated field, where the repeatedfield is a field that has a preset out-of-order relationship with apreset field of the legacy physical layer preamble in frequency domain,and if the new physical layer preamble includes the repeated field,determine that the PPDU is a target PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, that the determining unit isconfigured to determine whether the new physical layer preamble includesa repeated field further includes determining a similarity between firstinformation and second information, where the first information isobtained by performing a first decoding processing process on the presetfield of the legacy physical layer preamble, and the second informationis obtained by performing a second decoding processing process on therepeated field, and if the similarity is greater than or equal to apreset threshold, determining that the new physical layer preambleincludes the repeated field, or if the similarity is less than a presetthreshold, determining that the new physical layer preamble does notinclude the repeated field.

In a possible implementation design, the first decoding processingprocess includes de-interleaving processing, and the second decodingprocessing process does not include de-interleaving processing, or thefirst decoding processing process does not include de-scramblingprocessing, and the second decoding processing process includesde-scrambling processing, or the first decoding processing process doesnot include de-out-of-order processing for a data symbol, and the seconddecoding processing process includes de-out-of-order processing for adata symbol.

In a possible implementation design, de-out-of-order processing for adata symbol includes any one of performing cyclic shift on data symbolscarried on data subcarriers, interchanging data symbols carried onodd-numbered and even-numbered data subcarriers, and interchanging datasymbols carried in high-frequency and low-frequency data subcarriersubsets.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may beconfigured to execute the technical solutions on the receive end side inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 4 . Implementation principles and technicaleffects thereof are similar, and details are not described herein again.

An embodiment of this application further provides a communicationapparatus, used for a transmit end. A structure of the communicationapparatus is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 9 , and thecommunication apparatus may also include a generation unit and a sendingunit.

The generation unit is configured to generate a PPDU including apreamble, where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preambleand a new physical layer preamble, a 1^(st) field of the new physicallayer preamble is the same as a preset field of the legacy physicallayer preamble, and any field of the new physical layer preamble otherthan the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping.

The sending unit is configured to send the PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, a 2^(nd) field of the new physicallayer preamble uses the rotated BPSK mode for constellation pointmapping.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may beconfigured to execute the technical solutions on the transmit end sidein the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 . Implementation principles andtechnical effects thereof are similar, and details are not describedherein again.

An embodiment of this application further provides a communicationapparatus, used for a receive end. A structure of the communicationapparatus is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 10 , and thecommunication apparatus may also include a receiving unit and adetermining unit.

The receiving unit is configured to receive a PPDU including a preamble,where the preamble includes a legacy physical layer preamble and a newphysical layer preamble.

The determining unit is configured to determine whether a 1^(st) fieldof the new physical layer preamble is the same as a preset field of thelegacy physical layer preamble, and whether any field of the newphysical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSKmode for constellation point mapping, and if the 1^(st) field of the newphysical layer preamble is the same as the preset field of the legacyphysical layer preamble, and any field of the new physical layerpreamble other than the 1^(st) field uses a rotated BPSK mode forconstellation point mapping, determine that the PPDU is a target PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, determining whether any field ofthe new physical layer preamble other than the 1^(st) field uses arotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping includes determiningwhether a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble uses therotated BPSK mode for constellation point mapping.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may beconfigured to execute the technical solutions on the receive end side inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 6 . Implementation principles and technicaleffects thereof are similar, and details are not described herein again.

An embodiment of this application further provides a communicationapparatus, used for a transmit end. A structure of the communicationapparatus is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 9 , and thecommunication apparatus may also include a generation unit and a sendingunit.

The generation unit is configured to generate a PPDU including a newphysical layer preamble, where the new physical layer preamble includesa preset field, a check bit of the preset field is located at a presetlocation of a data subcarrier, and the preset location is used toindicate a frame structure of the PPDU.

The sending unit is configured to send the PPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field is a 1^(st) fieldor a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may beconfigured to execute the technical solutions on the transmit end sidein the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 . Implementation principles andtechnical effects thereof are similar, and details are not describedherein again.

An embodiment of this application further provides a communicationapparatus, used for a receive end. A structure of the communicationapparatus is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 10 , and thecommunication apparatus may also include a receiving unit and adetermining unit.

The receiving unit is configured to receive a PPDU including a preamble,where the preamble includes a new physical layer preamble.

The determining unit is configured to determine whether a check bit of apreset field of the new physical layer preamble is located at a presetlocation of a data subcarrier, where the preset location is used toindicate that the PPDU is a target PPDU, and if the check bit of thepreset field of the new physical layer preamble is located at the presetlocation of the data subcarrier, determine that the PPDU is the targetPPDU.

In a possible implementation design, the preset location is a startlocation of the data subcarrier.

In a possible implementation design, the preset field is a 1^(st) fieldor a 2^(nd) field of the new physical layer preamble.

The communication apparatus provided in this embodiment may beconfigured to execute the technical solutions on the receive end side inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 8 . Implementation principles and technicaleffects thereof are similar, and details are not described herein again.

It should be noted that division to the foregoing units of thecommunication apparatus is merely division into logical functions. Inactual implementation, all or some of the units may be integrated intoone physical entity, or may be physically separated. In addition, all ofthe units may be implemented in a form of software invoked by aprocessing element, or implemented in a form of hardware. Alternatively,some of the units may be implemented in a form of software invoked by aprocessing element, and some of the units may be implemented in a formof hardware. For example, the sending unit may be a processing elementdisposed separately, or may be implemented in a chip of thecommunication apparatus. In addition, the sending unit may be stored ina memory of the communication apparatus in a form of a program, andinvoked by a processing element of the communication apparatus toperform a function of the sending unit. Implementation of other units issimilar to the implementation of the sending unit. In addition, some orall of the units may be integrated together, or the units may beimplemented independently. The processing element herein may be anintegrated circuit having a signal processing capability. In animplementation process, the steps in the foregoing method or theforegoing units can be implemented using a hardware integrated logiccircuit in the processing element or using instructions in a form ofsoftware. In addition, the sending unit is a unit for controllingsending, and may receive information through a transmit apparatus of thecommunication apparatus, such as an antenna and a radio frequencyapparatus.

The foregoing units may be configured as one or more integrated circuitsfor implementing the foregoing method, for example, one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), one or moremicroprocessors (such as a digital signal processor (DSP)), one or morefield-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or the like. For another example,when one of the foregoing units is implemented by a processing elementinvoking a program, the processing element may be a general-purposeprocessor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or another processorthat can invoke a program. For another example, the units may beintegrated together and implemented as a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of acommunication device 110 according to an embodiment of this application.The communication device 110 includes at least one processor 1101, acommunication bus 1102, a memory 1103, and at least one communicationinterface 1104.

The processor 1101 may be a general-purpose CPU, a microprocessor, anASIC, or one or more integrated circuits that are configured to controlexecution of a program in a solution of this application.

The communication bus 1102 may include a channel on which information istransmitted between the foregoing components.

The communication interface 1104 is any apparatus of a transceiver type,and is configured to communicate with another device or a communicationnetwork, for example, the Ethernet, a radio access network (RAN), or aWLANs.

The memory 1103 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or another type ofstatic storage device capable of storing static information andinstructions, or a random-access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamicstorage device capable of storing information and instructions, or maybe an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disc(CD) ROM (CD-ROM) or another CD storage, an optical disc storage(including a compressed optical disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, adigital versatile (DVD) disc, a BLU-RAY DISC, or the like), a magneticdisk storage medium or another magnetic storage device, or any othermedium capable of carrying or storing expected program code in a form ofan instruction or a data structure and capable of being accessed by acomputer. However, this is not limited thereto. The memory may existindependently, and is connected to the processor through the bus. Thememory may alternatively be integrated with the processor.

The memory 1103 is configured to store application program code used forexecuting the solution of this application, and the processor 1101controls the execution. The processor 1101 is configured to execute theapplication program code stored in the memory 1103, to implement thecommunication methods provided in the foregoing embodiments of thisapplication.

Alternatively, optionally, in this embodiment of this application, theprocessor 1101 may perform processing related functions in thecommunication methods provided in the foregoing embodiments in thisapplication, and the communication interface 1104 is responsible forcommunication with another device or a communication network. This isnot further limited in this embodiment of this application.

In specific implementation, in an embodiment, the processor 1101 mayinclude one or more CPUs.

In specific implementation, in an embodiment, the communication device110 may include a plurality of processors. Each of the processors may bea single-core (single-CPU) processor, or may be a multi-core (multi-CPU)processor. The processor herein may be one or more devices, circuits,and/or processing cores for processing data (for example, a computerprogram instruction).

In specific implementation, in an embodiment, the communication device110 may further include an output device and an input device. The outputdevice communicates with the processor 1101, and may display informationin a plurality of manners. For example, the output device may be aliquid-crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) displaydevice, a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display device, a projector, or thelike. The input device communicates with the processor 1101, and mayreceive user input in a plurality of manners. For example, the inputdevice may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touchscreen device, or a sensordevice.

In addition, as described above, the communication device 110 providedin this embodiment of this application may be a chip, a transmit end, areceive end, or a device having a structure similar to that of thedevice shown in FIG. 11 . A type of the communication device 110 is notlimited in this embodiment of this application.

In this embodiment, the communication device 110 is presented with thefunction modules implemented through integration. The “module” hereinmay be an ASIC, a circuit, a processor executing one or more software orfirmware programs, a memory, an integrated logic circuit, and/or anothercomponent that can provide the foregoing function. In a simpleembodiment, a person skilled in the art may figure out that thecommunication device 110 may be in the form shown in FIG. 11 . Forexample, functions/implementation processes of the units in FIG. 9 andFIG. 10 may be implemented by the processor 1101 and the memory 1103 inFIG. 11 . Further, the generation unit in FIG. 9 may be executed by theprocessor 1101 by invoking the application program code stored in thememory 1103. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.Alternatively, the sending unit in FIG. 9 may be implemented by thecommunication interface 1104 in FIG. 11 . This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

It should be noted that the communication device provided in theembodiment shown in FIG. 11 may be further the transmit end in theembodiment shown in FIG. 4 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 8 . When invoking theprogram stored in the memory 1103, the processor 1101 may perform themethod, on the transmit end side, provided in the embodiment shown inFIG. 4 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 8 .

It should be noted that the communication device provided in theembodiment shown in FIG. 11 may be further the receive end in theembodiment shown in FIG. 4 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 8 . When invoking theprogram stored in the memory 1103, the processor 1101 may perform themethod, on the receive end side, provided in the embodiment shown inFIG. 4 , FIG. 6 , or FIG. 8 .

Optionally, an embodiment of this application provides a communicationsystem. The communication system may include the communication apparatusor the communication device described in any one of the foregoingembodiments.

All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented usingsoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof in theforegoing embodiments. When a software program is used to implement theembodiments, all or some of the embodiments may be implemented in a formof a computer program product. The computer program product includes oneor more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loadedand executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to theembodiments of this application are completely or partially generated.The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purposecomputer, a computer network, or another programmable apparatus. Thecomputer instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage mediumor may be transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium toanother computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computerinstruction may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, ordata center to another website, computer, server, or data center in awired (for example, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a digitalsubscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, ormicrowave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be anyusable medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, suchas a server or a data center, integrating one or more usable media. Theusable medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, ahard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD),a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid-state disk (SSD)), or thelike.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication method, comprising: generating anextremely high-throughput physical layer protocol data unit (EHT PPDUthat comprises a legacy physical layer preamble and a new physical layerpreamble, wherein the legacy physical layer preamble comprises a legacyshort training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), anda legacy signal (L-SIG) field in order, and wherein a first field of thenew physical layer preamble is a repeat of a field in the legacyphysical layer preamble and is modulated by binary phase shift keying(BPSK); and sending the EHT PPDU.
 2. The communication method of claim1, wherein the field in the legacy physical layer preamble is the L-SIGfield.
 3. The communication method of claim 2, wherein a value of alength field of the L-SIG field and a value of the first field of thenew physical layer preamble are both divisible by
 3. 4. Thecommunication method of claim 2, wherein a value of a length field inthe L-SIG field is divisible by
 3. 5. The communication method of claim1, wherein the first field is right after the L-SIG field, and whereinthe new physical layer preamble further comprises an extremelyhigh-throughput signal 2 (EHT-SIG 2) field that is right after anextremely high-throughput signal 1 (EHT-SIG 1) field and carriesresource unit (RU) allocation and user information.
 6. A communicationmethod, comprising: receiving an extremely high-throughput physicallayer protocol data unit (EHT PPDU) that comprises a legacy physicallayer preamble and a new physical layer preamble, wherein the legacyphysical layer preamble comprises a legacy short training field (L-STF),a legacy long training field (L-LTF), and a legacy signal (L-SIG) fieldin turn, and wherein a first field of the new physical layer preamble isa repeat of a field in the legacy physical layer preamble and ismodulated by binary phase shift keying (BPSK); and decoding the EHTPPDU.
 7. The communication method of claim 6, wherein the field in thelegacy physical layer preamble is the L-SIG field.
 8. The communicationmethod of claim 7, wherein a value of a length field of the L-SIG fieldand the first field of the new physical layer preamble are bothdivisible by
 3. 9. The communication method of claim 7, wherein a valueof a length field in the L-SIG field is divisible by
 3. 10. Thecommunication method of claim 6, wherein the first field of the newphysical layer preamble is right after the L-SIG field, and wherein thenew physical layer preamble further comprises an extremelyhigh-throughput signal 2 (EHT-SIG 2) field that is right after anextremely high-throughput signal 1 (EHT-SIG 1) field and carriesresource unit (RU) allocation and user information.
 11. A communicationapparatus, comprising: one or more processors configured to generate anextremely high-throughput physical layer protocol data unit (EHT PPDU)that comprises a legacy physical layer preamble and a new physical layerpreamble, wherein the legacy physical layer preamble comprises a legacyshort training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), anda legacy signal (L-SIG) field in turn, and wherein a first field of thenew physical layer preamble is a repeat of a field in the legacyphysical layer preamble and is modulated by binary phase shift keying(BPSK); and a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured tosend the EHT PPDU.
 12. The communication apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe field in the legacy physical layer preamble is the L-SIG field. 13.The communication apparatus of claim 12, wherein a value of a lengthfield of the L-SIG field and the first field of the new physical layerpreamble are both divisible by
 3. 14. The communication apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein a value of a length field in the L-SIG field isdivisible by
 3. 15. The communication apparatus of claim 11, wherein thefirst field of the new physical layer preamble is right after the L-SIGfield, and wherein the new physical layer preamble further comprises anextremely high-throughput signal 2 (EHT-SIG 2) field that is right afteran extremely high-throughput signal 1 (EHT-SIG 1) field and carriesresource unit (RU) allocation and user information.
 16. A communicationapparatus, comprising: a receiver configured to receive an extremelyhigh-throughput physical layer protocol data unit (EHT PPDU) thatcomprises a legacy physical layer preamble and a new physical layerpreamble, wherein the legacy physical layer preamble comprises a legacyshort training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), anda legacy signal (L-SIG) field in turn, and wherein a first field of thenew physical layer preamble is a repeat of a field in the legacyphysical layer preamble and is modulated by binary phase shift keying(BPSK); and one or more processors coupled to the receiver andconfigured to decode the EHT PPDU.
 17. The communication apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the field in the legacy physical layer preamble is theL-SIG field.
 18. The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein avalue of a length field
 3. 19. The communication apparatus of claim 16,wherein a value of a length field in the L-SIG field is divisible by 3.20. The communication apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first field ofthe new physical layer preamble is right after the L-SIG field, andwherein the new physical layer preamble further comprises an extremelyhigh-throughput signal 2 (EHT-SIG 2) field that is right after anextremely high-throughput signal 1 (EHT-SIG 1) field and carriesresource unit (RU) allocation and user information.